Jones will announce his college commitment Thursday afternoon at his high school. Michigan, Michigan State, and Ohio State are the three schools remaining in the hunt.

"It's tough picking between these schools, but I am ready to get this over with and go back to being a normal kid," Jones said. "It was made a little easier once I decided to stay in the Midwest."

Jones visited each of his three finalists just more than a week ago. He first traveled from Chicago to Ann Arbor June 15, spent the next day in East Lansing and finished his tour in Columbus. He had nothing but positive things to say about Michigan coming out of the 3-city swing.

"I just wanted to get around the players a little bit more, get a feel for them and their thoughts on the program," Jones said. "I stayed with freshman tight end A.J. Williams, and we were with mostly the upperclassmen. I got to meet with the coaching staff for quite some time and talked with them to see what their visions are."

"With Michigan, of course their academics are second to none besides Ivy League schools," Jones said. "Then, Coach (Brady) Hoke is a great guy and I really liked when I visited there.”

Despite the positives, Michigan may be playing from behind to MSU and OSU. That’s a shame, because Jones is a serious talent. Although he’s coming off shoulder surgery this spring, he is one of the strongest linemen in the Midwest – or even the country – when healthy. The 6-5, 285-pounder is mobile enough to play inside or outside on the offensive line, a versatility which has landed him distinction as the country’s No. 97 overall prospect.

While U-M is playing from behind, should the Wolverines pull the surprise, he would become commit No. 12 in the 2014 class and bump the Wolverines’ class up to No. 6 nationally, with fewer commits than any program ahead of them.

Tim Sullivan is the Football Recruiting Editor of The Wolverine magazine and TheWolverine.com. He is also a contributor to national football recruiting coverage on the Rivals.com network. You can follow him on Twitter @TimS_Wolverine.